Camping furniture

ABSTRACT

A pair of bench units may be utilized by campers in vans or under canopies or tents. Each unit embodies a padded lid serving as a single bed. The two bench units side-by-side in a van or tent form a double bed. Beneath the lid of one unit is a complete kitchen apparatus and beneath the lid of the other unit is a large insulated storage chest. The twin units have adjustable legs and convenient carrying handles.

14 1 Mar. 27, 1973 CAMPING FURNITURE 3,099,482 Woodruff, 2,886,0985/1959 Hoven et a1. 2,725,923 12/ 1955 [76] Inventor: Larry Miller,Route 1, Box 371-],

Bachrach Selah, Wash. 98942 May 6, 1971 211 App]. No.2 140,745

3/1961 Maidl.......... 2,233,864 3/1941 [22] Filed:

Primary Examiner-Bemard A. Gelak Assistant Examiner-Darrell MarquetteAttorney-B. P. Fishburne, Jr.

[52] US. C1...........,......................5/118,5/2 R, 5/58, 5/308,248/188.2, 297/193, 297/217,

312/214, 312/237 ABSTRACT A air of bench units may be utilized bycampers in vans or under canopies or tents. Eac

h unit embodies a double bed.

have adjustable padded lid serving as a single bed. The two bench unitsside-by-side in a van or tent form a Beneath the lid of one unit is acomplete kitchen apparatus and beneath the lid of the other unit is alarge insulated storage chest. The twin units legs and convenientcarrying handles.

51 1111. 17/64 [58] Field ofSearch..........5/8, 52,58, 118,308,310;297/192, 193, 422, 217-, 248/1882, 446,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,692,009 10/1954 Warshaver5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PMFHH'UMARQYIM SHEET 3 BF 3 Hoe CAMPINGFURNITURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many forms of camping equipmentare available on todays market and are disclosed in prior art patentsand literature. Such equipment commonly takes the form of a campingtrailer or truck body having an expandable body which may be opened upat night to provide sleeping accommodations as well as kitchen andtoilet facilities. These devices are made collapsible to a rathercompact form for highway travel. One problem with such conventionalcamping equipment is that it is very costly initially and thereforebeyond the reach of many campers in the lower income levels. Many suchindividuals cannot afford to purchase a customized camping vehicle andall that it entails. In lieu of this, there is little available on themarket as a substitute except for some haphazard camp stoves, toiletunits, bunks and the like which are not capable of forming an integratedunit for the convenience of campers who have tents. Additionally, manycampers either own or can readily rent a van type vehicle withoutexpensive camping attachments and there is a strong need for suitableequipment not forming a permanent part of such vehicles but readilyusable therewith to make a camping expedition comfortable andconvenient.

It is the object of the present invention, therefore, to provide campingequipment which does not form a permanent part of any vehicle or housingstructure but which can readily be employed inside of many vehicles,tents, canopies and the like, to provide the camper with all of thenecessities and conveniences commonly required.

The invention embodies a pair of twin units or benches which have paddedlids or tops serving as sleep surfaces. The units have extensible legsso that the heights of the units may be varied. At least one unit orbench embodies beneath its top a generous insulated be apparent duringthe course of the following descrip- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGFIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of twin camping equipmentunits inside of a van-type vehicle and arranged therein to form a doublebed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one equipment unit with its lid ortop open to illustrate an internal storage compartment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the other twin unit with the paddedsleeping top in place.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second'unit with the top raised toshow the underlying kitchen equipment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged transverse vertical section taken on line 55 ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the unit shown in FIG. 4 with the top removed.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged transverse vertical section taken on line 77 ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 88 ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a leg assembly andassociated parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in detail wherein likenumerals designate like parts, the numerals 10 and 11 designatecompanion or twin camping benches or units which are separate andindependent and which may be used together or separately in a variety ofsituations by campers. The two units 10 and 11 are completely portableand may be placed inside of a van-type vehicle such as the vehicle 12shown in FIG. 1. The units may be placed beneath a tent or canopy duringusage and may be transported by any suitable truck or vehicle. Theflexibility of the equipment in its usage by campers is one of the mostimportaht features of the invention, and the fact that the equipment isnot permanently attached to any vehicle or restricted in its movement.

The units 10 and 11 have a number of common structural features whichcan be described simultaneously as follows. Each unit comprises an opentop rectangular elongated box-like body 13 well adapted to be made ofplywood and each body 13 is equipped at opposite ends with a support legassembly 14 consisting of sturdy comer angle brackets 15 which arefirmly anchored in any conventional manner to the adjacent comers of theplywood body 13. The two brackets 15 are rigidly interconnected bytransverse arms 16 of wood or the like and these arms serve to unitizeeach assembly 14. As shown in FIG. 6, the tops of one or more arms 16may be provided with recesses 17 for drink containers and this is anoptional feature.

Each assembly 14 further includes a pair of inclined rectangular legholding tubes 18 rigid with and adjacent angle bracket 15 and withineach tube 18 is an adjustable inclined leg 19 having a level foot 20which may be a swiveled foot, if desired. Each leg 19 is clamped in theselected adjusted position by a set screw 21 or some equivalent means onthe tube 18. The lower end of each leg is disposed somewhat outwardly ofthe end of the bench body 13 for stability and the tops of the elements18 and 19 project inside of the body 13 as most clearly shown in FIGS. 5and 8. In this manner, each bench unit 10 and 11 has its opposite endssupported by a rigid adjustable leg assembly including a transversehorizontal arm 16 whose upper surface is generally flush with the top ofthe bench unit.

Each unit 10 and 11 further comprises a rectangular lid or top 22 alsopreferably formed of plywood and this top is heavily padded at 23 withfoam rubber or the like to form a comfortable sleeping surface. The lidor top 22 is bodily removable from the bench unit and as depicted inFIG. 5 includes a shallow side wall portion 24 which fits snugly over amolding 25 formed around the top of each unit.

The above completes the description of the common or identicalcomponents on the two units 10 and 11, and as the drawings depict, thetwo units possess the same overall external dimensions.

Referring to FIG. 2, the unit 10 possesses a single large rectangularstorage compartment 26 beneath the top 22 and this compartmentpreferably has insulated side and bottom walls as depicted in FIG. 5 sothat it may be employed as an ice chest for cold storage. Other articlesmay be stored in the unit 10, if desired. The cover 22 of the unit 10may also be additionally insulated on its lower side.

The unit 11 is provided under the lid or cover 22 and within thebox-like body 1 1 with full kitchen equipment for the camper includingnear one end a fully insulated deep ice chest 27, FIG. 7, having aremovable insulated lid 28 which is also grooved at 29 to provide adrain for dishes placed thereon. At the center of the unit 11, a kitchensink 30 is provided including a pump-type faucet 31 and a funnel 32 forfilling the water storage tank.

This kitchen equipment is conventional and is available on the openmarket. Therefore, the details of the sink and cooker need not bedescribed in full detail.

At the other end of the unit 11 a preferably propane gas two burnercooker or stove 33 is provided in the body 13, as shown. Other types ofstove may be built in if preferred, such as an oil or kerosene stove.Details of the particular kitchen equipment chosen may vary.

In use, the two units and 1 1 with their lids in place form a convenientadjustable height double bed inside of the van 12 or in any otherlocation where it may be desired to use the equipment. The padding 23 ispreferably covered with waterproof upholstery and is easy to clean. Theunits are easy to lift out of the van and set up in the field at aconvenient height for use by adjusting the legs as illustrated in FIG.4. While the two units fit together very conveniently to form a doublebed, they are entirely separate and independent for use in any desiredmanner outside of the carrying vehicle. When the lids 22 are removed andset aside, they may be used as a bed or seat while the kitchen equipmentis in use. The flexibility and the other advantages of the equipmentover the known prior art will now be readily herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scopeof the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. Equipment for campers comprising a pair of companion bench units eachhaving a box-like body defining storage and equipment compartments,removable covers for the box-like bodies having cushioning materialthereon so that the tops of the bench units may form sleeping surfaceswhen the covers are in place, the pair of units then adapted to form adouble sleeping surface when arranged side-by-side, and adjustablelength supporting legs on each unit enabling it to be leveled and heldat the desired elevation, said legs forming parts of end supportingassemblies for the units, said assemblies comprising pairs of anglebrackets which embrace the corners of said box-like bodies, andtransverse arms rigidly interconnecting the angle brackets, said legssecured rigidly to the angle brackets.

2. The structure of claim 1, and each leg comprising an inclined tubularelement secured rigidly to one angle bracket, and a leg element securedadjustably within the tubular element.

3. The structure of claim 2, and a clamping set screw on each tubularelement engaging the leg element to secure the same in a selectedadjusted position.

4. The structure of claim 1, and said removable covers for the box-likebodies comprising slip top rectangular covers having a dependentmarginal side flange, each box-like body having a depressed marginalshoulder abutting said side flange when the slip top cover is in placethereon.

5. The structure of claim 4, and wherein at least one of said box-likebodies has thick thermal insulation on its side, end and bottom walls.

1. Equipment for campers comprising a pair of companion bench units eachhaving a box-like body defining storage and equipment compartments,removable covers for the box-like bodies having cushioning materialthereon so that the tops of the bench units may form sleeping surfaceswhen the covers are in place, the pair of units then adapted to form adouble sleeping surface when arranged side-by-side, and adjustablelength supporting legs on each unit enabling it to be leveled and heldat the desired elevation, said legs forming parts of end supportingassemblies for the units, said assemblies comprising pairs of anglebrackets which embrace the corners of said box-like bodies, andtransverse arms rigidly interconnecting the angle brackets, said legssecured rigidly to the angle brackets.
 2. The structure of claim 1, andeach leg comprising an inclined tubular element secured rigidly to oneangle bracket, and a leg element secured adjustably within the tubularelement.
 3. The structure of claim 2, and a clamping set screw on eachtubular element engaging the leg element to secure the same in aselected adjusted position.
 4. The structure of claim 1, and saidremovable covers for the box-like bodies comprising slip top rectangularcovers having a dependent marginal side flange, each box-like bodyhaving a depressed marginal shoulder abutting said side flange when theslip top cover is in place thereon.
 5. The structure of claim 4, andwherein at least one of said box-like bodies has thick thermalinsulation on its side, end and bottom walls.